Is the Germany-Taliban Dialogue a Preview of a Bigger Picture?

The Diplomat

3 days ago

For the first time, Germany has allowed envoys from the Taliban to enter the country to arrange deportation flights for Afghans.
On July 21, Germany announced that it had permitted two Taliban envoys to enter the country to facilitate the deportation of Afghan nationals with criminal records. This marked the first instance since the Taliban's forceful takeover of Kabul in August 2021 that Germany allowed Taliban officials to enter its territory.
Following the takeover, Germany closed its embassy in Kabul and suspended 'comprehensive development cooperation and stabilization support' with Afghanistan. However, according to the Foreign Office, Berlin continued 'to be significantly engaged in the fields of humanitarian assistance and basic services for the people in Afghanistan and for Afghan refugees in neighboring countries.' In particular, Germany focused its efforts on civil society and human rights, particularly for women and children, as well as taking part in regional and international efforts to address Afghanistan issues.
Like many other nations, Germany does not formally recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan due to the regime's human rights abuses, especially its treatment of women and girls. Nevertheless, Germany has maintained 'technical contacts' with the Taliban to manage deportations, facilitated by Qatar. Despite its recent decision to allow Taliban envoys to enter the country to assist with the deportation process, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized that, while consular staff may work in the country, there will be no diplomatic recognition of the Taliban government.
The Taliban envoys who arrived in Germany will work at the Afghanistan's embassy in Berlin and the Afghan consulate in Bonn. The German Foreign Office explained the decision by saying: 'The German government has an interest in ensuring that Afghan nationals in Germany receive adequate consular support – this includes, for example, the issuance of passports.' The Foreign Office noted that Afghan officials who were accredited before the Taliban's takeover are currently leading Afghanistan's diplomatic missions in Germany. However, the staff at these missions face significant challenges due to limited resources.
After the Taliban regained power nearly four years ago, the German government decided to stop deportations to Afghanistan. However, with the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric, particularly from the far-right, Merz has now prioritized deportations. His predecessor, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, also pledged to expedite the removal of rejected asylum seekers and migrants with criminal records. This decision was made in response to violent attacks involving migrants and subsequent anti-immigrant sentiment, which is exacerbated by disproportionate media coverage of terror attacks linked to refugees, ultimately strengthening populist far-right movements.
It was under Scholz that Germany began deporting Afghan nationals with criminal records to Afghanistan. Following months of secret negotiations facilitated by Qatar, the German government successfully deported 28 convicted criminals to Afghanistan in August 2024.
On July 18, 2025 the German Interior Ministry confirmed the deportation of another 81 Afghan nationals who had failed asylum claims and held criminal convictions. These individuals transferred to Leipzig under police supervision, and from there were flown to Afghanistan on a chartered flight. This flight marked the first chartered deportation under Merz's administration.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt pushed for direct talks with the regime in Kabul to speed up regular deportations of rejected asylum seekers and convicted offenders to Afghanistan. Now the German government has decided to directly involve the Taliban in the deportations and allowed its envoys to enter the country. This indicates a policy shift in Germany's dealings with the Taliban. However, Berlin strongly maintains that the direct talks with the Taliban do not constitute diplomatic recognition of the group.
Dobrindt stated that more EU member states are considering deportations to Afghanistan. 'We have spoken several times about the fact that the deportations to Afghanistan we have carried out are attracting great interest from other countries, who would like to take part in such operations,' he said at an informal EU Home Affairs Council meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Among the EU member states, Germany is the first to have direct contact with the Taliban. Norway, which is not an EU member state, is the only European country to have accepted an acting envoy from the Taliban.
It is important to note that Germany has a history of engaging in direct dialogue with the Taliban. In May 2011, Germany's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Michael Steiner, facilitated secret talks between the Taliban and the United States in Germany. This meeting involved U.S. officials from both the State Department and the CIA, as well as a relative of Mullah Omar, then the Taliban leader. It is believed that this encounter played a significant role in establishing the Taliban's office in Doha, Qatar, which proved instrumental in the Afghan peace process between the Taliban and the Trump administration.
It would be premature to conclude that the direct dialogue between Germany and the Taliban will lead to any significant outcomes. However, the implications should not be underestimated. Germany's outreach provides a substantial diplomatic boost to the Taliban regime, which so far has resisted pressure from the international community. Rather than yielding to external pressures, the Taliban have effectively brought the international community to the negotiating table on their own terms, and their government appears to be gaining more ground.
Now for the first time in four years, the Taliban have engaged in direct dialogue and been allowed to send their envoys to operate in a Western capital, albeit without formal diplomatic recognition. This marks a potential first step toward the official recognition that the Taliban has long sought.